Influence of recovery characteristics on switching behavior of SiC MOSFETs

The effect of recovery characteristics on the switching behavior of silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) is investigated on the basis of the output capacitance charge of the recovery arm (Q(oss)) and the reverse recovery charge by minority carrier injection (Q(rec)). It is confirmed that the variation of drain current during switching operation due to the increase inQ(oss)andQ(rec)modifies the rise or fall time of drain-source voltage, which results in an increased turn-on loss and a decreased turn-off loss of SiC MOSFETs. Furthermore, a substantial impact ofQ(oss)andQ(rec)on switching loss for faster switching speed is observed because of the enlarged variation of drain current. These results suggest the necessity of careful consideration of the effect ofQ(oss)andQ(rec)on switching loss to realize future high-frequency systems using SiC MOSFETs.